Mandate Held for Twenty-five Years

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26772, 15 May 1948, Page 7

Mandate Held for Twenty-five Years

On November 2, 1917, a statement, afterwards known as “The Balfour Declaration,” was made by the British Government that Britain viewed with favour the establishment in Palestine of a home for the Jewish race. The principle was incorporated in the mandate to Britain, which came officially into force on September 29, 1923, with the reservation that nothing should be done to the prejudice of the civil and religious rights of non-Jewish communities in Palestine.

On September 26, 1947, following a long debate in the United Nations on the Palestine question, Britain’s decision to relinquish her mandate over Palestine and to withdraw all her troops and administrative forces, was announced in the Assembly. Since the announcement, Britain has frequently reiterated its determined decision to complete its withdrawal by May 15. During the intervening period, Jewish-Arab strife and attacks against British authority have increased, and, at times, reached battle Ditch, Both the Jews and the Arabs have signified their intention to “ defend their rights ” in the Holy Land, and in recent weeks reports of armies marshalling on Palestine’s borders and defensive positions within Palestine itself being strengthened and prepared, have presented a scene of tension to the outside world. Cost to Britain

A message from London says that the British Colonial and Foreign Offices. , in a joint statement outlining the history of Palestine, said Britain had had 84,000 troops in Palestine. The troops, lacking the co-operation of the Jewish community, had proved insufficient to maintain order in the face of the terrorist campaign, waged by highly - organised Jewish forces, equipped with all modern weapons. Three hundred and thirty-eight British subjects had been killed since the war.

The military forces had cost the British taxpayer £100,000,000. The Government hoped that both sides would realise the tragic consequences of attempting to conquer by force. “Some compromise may yet be possible,” the statement said. “ The Government is prepared to give every assistance, short of imposing by force a solution not acceptable to both peoples.”